Wednesday, January 8, 2014

What can you tell my readers about yourself that they might not know from
looking on your bio or reading in another interview?
I adore funky, non-precious gemstone, or ethnic jewelry. My husband probably
believes I need to be on a 12-step program. I also have an addiction to purses
and briefcases. I really shouldn’t be turned loose in the purse section at TJ
Maxx without a chaperone—who should also have my charge card—and the ability to
keep me from taking it from them by force.

What do you enjoy doing on your downtime?
Downtime? What’s downtime? Well, I do have this thing called “forced
downtime,” in which I make time for those pesky life things that get in the way
of writing: husband, family, friends, dogs, reading, and sleep. Eating isn’t
included since I can do that while writing. In fact, I’m doing it right now.

What is your Favorite part of writing?
Unlike many writers, I prefer the rewriting/editing part of writing a book.
For me, the first draft is the necessary evil that I have to get through to
reach the part I really enjoy. Once I have the entire story down in rough draft
form, that’s when I can start to play and have fun; because at that point, I’ve
got something to work with.

Do you have any certain routines you must follow as you write?
I write all of my first drafts in longhand, with a fountain pen (bottle fed,
not ink cartridges), in journals. My routine is to write at least 1500 words a
day, which will give me the rough draft equivalent of two chapters a week. On
the weekends is when I type what I’ve written into my computer, making edits as
I go. I’ve found that I can’t compose on a computer. My creative brain responds
better to the feel of a pen on paper. I’m also a rabid fountain pen collector,
both modern and vintage. Needless to say, I love me some eBay, flea markets, and
antique shops—which is also another favorite downtime activity.

What are some of your Favorite books or Authors in the Urban Fantasy/
Paranormal Genres?
I cut my novel-writing teeth in the 80s on the books of David Eddings,
Raymond Feist, and Terry Brooks. My favorite UF authors now are Jim Butcher, Rob
Thurman, and Ilona Andrews. I love reading thrillers that have a hint of the
paranormal: The Agent Pendergast series by Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child,
the Event Group books by David Golemon, and everything by James Rollins or
Jeremy Robinson. My TBR stack is insanely big. Actually, it’s a TBR bookcase.

How would you pitch The Grendel Affair to someone who has not heard
of it before?
What would happen if Stephanie Plum went to work for the Men in Black?

Can you tell us a little bit about the world that The SPI Files Seriesis set in?
Since SPI is a worldwide organization, it seemed natural for me to put their
global headquarters in New York. And if supernatural creatures wanted to be
among humans, but concealed in the crowds, New York seemed to me to be the
perfect choice. But why did supernatural beings come to our world/dimension in
the first place? They want the same things as the rest of us: a good job, nice
house, 2.5 kids/spawn, and a dog. The others? Well, their powers are stronger
here, their greed is bigger, and any treaties or bindings that might have made
them behave back home don’t mean squat here. They don’t just want their slice of
the American Dream; they want the whole freaking pie, and they don’t care what
they have to do, who they have to kill, or how many city blocks they have to
level to get what they want.

That’s why we’re here.

Someone has to even the odds.

We’re Supernatural Protection & Investigations.

Do you have a favorite scene in The Grendel Affair?
There’s a scene set in Brooklyn’s Green-WoodCemetery where Mac is on
a tractor/snowplow pursuing an elderly hired assassin who looks like the queen
of England and is driving a Buick.

Which character was your favorite to write about? What about the hardest
to write about?
As with my Raine Benares books, some of my favorite characters have been
members of the “supporting cast.” Two of my favs from The Grendel Affair
are Yasha Kazakov and Kenji Hayashi. Here’s the intro copy for them from the
book from Mac’s POV:

Yasha was one of SPI’s drivers and trackers. In a city where at any given
time there were more upernatural baddies than available parking spaces, having a
reliable drop-off and pick-up guy was a necessity. Even better was one who had
no problem with turning a rampaging monster into a hood ornament. And should a
simple collar turn into a cluster, Yasha was always more than happy to take the
fight beyond the driver’s seat— especially during the full moon.

Yasha Kazakov was a werewolf.

Kenji Hayashi was SPI’s resident tech geek. He was also an elf. I didn’t know
if he was half elf/ half Japanese human or all Japanese elf. Heck, I didn’t even
know Japan had elves, and I didn’t know Kenji well enough yet to ask. Some
supernaturals could be even more sensitive and PC about those things than
humans. Multi-cultural was one thing. But multi-​species? Not sticking my foot
in my mouth would be next to impossible, so I had kept it shut on that topic.

What I knew for sure was that if information was buried deeper than a
politician’s past or encrypted six ways from Sunday, Kenji was the go-to guy to
dig it out and make it sing. During his in-office hours, he was surrounded by
computer screens directing teams of monster-hunting agents. He did exactly the
same thing in his off-duty time, only then it was called gaming. Not being a
gaming, anime, or comic aficionado, I didn’t recognize most of the figures and
toys on every exposed surface in Kenji’s workspace, but there were two that I
did—a foot-tall Godzilla complete with glowing red eyes, gripping a headless Jar
Jar Binks action figure. The head was in Godzilla’s mouth. It was my favorite.

I really enjoyed the Raine Benares Series. How was writing about Makenna
different than writing about Raine?
Growing up in a family of pirates, Raine was a trained fighter both
hand-to-hand and with various weapons. Makenna Fraser is a small-town girl from
the North Carolina mountains who is now living and working in New York. While
one of her 16th birthday presents was a shotgun (the other was a
muscle car), she’s used to hunting things that she intends to eat—not defending
herself against things that intend to eat her.

What Other Projects can we look forward to reading from you?
A lot of my readers have told me that they miss Tam from my Raine Benares
books. I miss Tam, too. Once I put the second SPI Files book to bed (The
Dragon Conspiracy, which I’m writing now), I intend to write an e-novella of
events that were hinted at in Magic Lost, Trouble Found, but never
explored—how exactly did Raine and Tam meet, and what happened when they did?
And bear in mind that this story happens pre-Mychael—so anything goes. ; )

__________________________________

Contrary to popular belief, most authors do have day jobs just like everyone
else. Lisa’s happily freelancing for an advertising agency as an editor and
proofreader. In her previous corporate life, she’s been a magazine editor,
advertising copywriter, and writer of corporate marketing materials of every
description.

Lisa is the national bestselling author of The Raine Benares novels, a series
of six comedic fantasy adventures. Her next series—The SPI Files—is an urban
fantasy that’s been described as Stephanie Plum meets Men in Black. It
will debut on December 31, 2013.

Lisa is a voracious collector of fountain pens both vintage and modern. She
lives in North Carolina with her husband, two spoiled-rotten retired racing
greyhounds, and a Jack Russell Terrier who rules them all.

We’re Supernatural
Protection & Investigations, known as SPI. Things that go bump in
the night, the monsters you thought didn’t exist? We battle them and
keep you safe. But some supernatural baddies are just too big to
contain, even for us

When I moved to New York to become a
world famous journalist, I never imagined that snagging a job at a
seedy tabloid would change my career path from trashy reporter to
undercover agent. I’m Makenna Fraser, a Seer for SPI. I can see through
any disguise, shield, or spell that a paranormal pest can come up with. I
track down creatures and my partner, Ian Byrne, takes them out—usually
saving my skin in the process.

Our cases are generally pretty
routine, but a sickle-wielding serial killer has been prowling the
city’s subway tunnels. And the murderer’s not human. The fiend in
question, a descendant of Grendel—yes, that Grendel—shares his
ancestor’s hatred of parties, revelry, and drunkards. And with New
Year’s Eve in Times Square only two days away, we need to bag him
quickly. Because if we don’t find him—and the organization behind him—by
midnight, our secret’s out and everyone’s time is up.